Shoe sewing machine



Oct. 24, 1944- J. P. FREDERICKSEN 2,361,279

SHOE SEWING MACHINE Filed Nov. 14, 1942 I Zia/enter W #2 FM Patented Oct. 24, 1944 SHOE SEWING MACHINE James P. Fredericksen, Quincy, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application November 14, 1942, Serial No. 465,590

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to shoe sewing machines, and more particularly to improvements in welt guiding devices for effecting the attachment of a welt strip'to the marginal portions of a lasted shoe upper and insole.

In the manufacture of the conventional welt type shoe, a welt strip is secured during the inseam stitching operation to the overlasted marginal portion of the shoe upper by stitches passing more or less obliquely through one face of the welt and emerging from the other face. One surface of the welt, generally the grain side, thus is drawn into contact with the upper and lies against that portion of the upper which has been drawn around the break line of the last.

The welt is subsequently flattened out and the shoe sole is attached thereto. The inner portion of the welt strip attached in this manner is bent over into a more or less upright position along the line of the inseam so that a heavy sewing rib of substantial thickness is formed which has a marked effect to increase the stiffness of the sole of the finished shoe.

In an effort to increase the flexibility of shoes, particularly light weight womens shoes, various methods of construction have been found successful. Among these are the substitution of a light weight fabric mid-sole or innersole, the shoe upper being secured by stitching through the marginal portions of upper and fabric insole. Such a shoe, constructed without a welt and having the outsole attached by cement or by through and through stitching, is highly flexible and light in weight. If, however, a Welt type shoe is desired, and a welt strip is presented and secured in the usual manner during the sewing of the upper and insole, then the advantages of the flexible fabric insole are largely defeated by the stiffness imparted by the welt strip.

The present invention therefore has as an object the provision of a welt strip and method of attaching the same, particularly but by no means exclusively adapted for use in conjunction with the manufacture of shoes employing a midsole or innersole of flexible material, so as to provide a welt type shoe wherein the welt strip imparts no appreciable weight or stiffness to the finished shoe.

The invention likewise contemplates as an object the provision of a shoe sewing machine having welt guiding devices which make possible the accurate presentation of a thin and flexible welt strip to the sewing point for attachment to the shoe in accordance with the method'of the invention, without requiring special skill on the part of the operator in manipulating the shoe during sewing.

To provide a welt type shoe distinguished by light weight and flexibility, the present invention proposes the use of a thin welt strip which is preferably provided with a stepped or shouldered portion, and which is guided into substantially edgewise relation to the upper at the sewing point, so that the needle passes through the welt in a direction substantially parallel to the surface of the welt and emerges at the edge of the welt. As a result, the welt is not bent transversely by being drawn into the turn of the upper beyond the break line of the last, nor is it distorted out of flatwise position during subsequent attachment of the outsole.

In carrying out the present invention, applicant provides a welt guiding means which is particularly constructed and arranged for guiding a welt strip of thin'and flexible character as above described into substantially edgewise relation to the upper at the sewing point, and for supporting the welt in this position so that the needle passes through the welt in a direction substantially parallel to the surface'of the welt, and emerges at the edge of the welt.

Features of applicants novel welt guide comprise .a closed welt engaging loop portion located at the welt entering side of the needle, that is, at that side of the needle remote from the completed stitches of the seam, an underlying support or plate portion which engages against the under side of the welt and extends across and substantially beyond the plane of operation of the needle, a finger gauge which engages against the upper surface of the welt at the side of the needle with the completed stitches of the seam, cooperating with the plate portion above noted so that a firm, unyielding support is provided for the welt in the vicinity of and at both sides of the plane of needle movement. A width gauge adjustably supported within the loop portion of the welt guide and extending substantially across the plane of operation of the needle for engagementwith the rear edge of the welt, serves to crowd the welt forwardly against the welt guide and the shoe at the sewing point.

This construction and arrangement of the welt guide has the advantage that the welt is firmly and accurately held with relation to theneedle during its work-piercing stroke to permit the attachment ofthe welt to the upper in the edgewise position above described. The substantial support provided for the welt serves to prevent any crumpling or deflection of the welt which might otherwise result, from the penetration of the needle in a transverse direction through the relatively unsubstantial and flimsy stock, or from twisting and turning strains incidental to the manipulation of the shoe by the operator as the stitching operation progresses about the sole margin of the shoe.

In the drawing illustrating the invention, Fig. 1 is a view in left side elevation of a portion of a shoe sewing machine adapted for sewing a thin stepped welt, showing in section a portion of one type of shoe to which the welt may be attached; Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of the welt guide of the invention, a fragment of the needle being shown in section to illustrate the relation of needle and guide at the bottom of the needle arc; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the welt guide on an enlarged scale, with the supporting bracket shown in section; and Fig. 4 is a view, partly in section, of the welt guide, taken in the direction of line 4 of Fig. 2, the stepped welt being shown in section within the guide.

The machine in which the welt guide is illustrated as embodied is similar in many respects to the inseam shoe sewing machine illustrated and described in United States Letters Patent to Eppler No. 1,108,560, dated August 25, 1914. The machine is provided with a curved hook needle 8, a looper [0, a back rest 12 and a channel guide 14, the actuation of these parts being similar to the machine of said Eppler patent.

The machine, through the provision of the welt guide to be described, is well adapted for attaching the special thin welt to a shoe which employs a flexible unchanneled midsole in place of the usual unchannelled innersole. Such a shoe is illustrated in Fig. 1 as comprising a lasted upper !8. with a plain innersole 20 and a flexible midsole 22 of fabric or other thin flexible material secured to the tread face of the last 24.

The welt strip 26 is characterized by a stepped shape in section, the major portion of the welt being of reduced thickness so as to leave a shoulder 28 along one side. This step is on the flesh side of the strip, and the grain surface is unmarred by any slit or groove.

The welt is attached to the shoe by stitches passing through the step or shoulder at or near the base thereof and emerging from the edge of the welt, with the result that the welt is secured in edgewise relation to the upper by stitches which are approximately parallel to the surface of the welt. By attaching the welt in flatwise position, so that no appreciable transverse bending of the welt takes place when the outsole and welt are secured together, but little stiffness is imparted to the shoe by the welt. In fact, with this shape of welt and the edgewise mode of attachment it becomes practicable to employ a welt of exceptionally small size and possessing great flexibility, the thickness of the welt at the step being only sufficient to permit passage of the needle through the step edgewise of the welt without tearing out.

With such a reduction in welt thickness, however, and with the passage of the needle edgewise of the welt, the welt strip must be positioned with extreme accuracy relative to the needle path, and such positioning must be attained by positive support not dependent on the position of the shoe as the latter is manipulated by the operator in sewing around the work.

The necessary support and guidance of the thin stepped welt is provided by a welt guide of special construction, carried by a bracket 30 secured to the lower end of the arm 32. The bracket is formed with a sidewardly and upwardly extending lug 34, the angle of inclination of the lug being illustrated in Fig. 2. A bolt 36 which passes through the lug and is provided with a clamping nut 38 serves to secure the parts of the guide to the bracket.

The guide is conveniently constructed in two pieces, an outer relatively fixed member 40 and an inner sliding member 42. The member 40 includes a welt-enclosing portion 44 having a spacing between upper and lower inner surfaces substantially equal to the thickness of the welt at its stepped edge 28. The sliding member 42, slotted at 46 for the clamp bolt, is set by finger lug 48 to crowd the welt outwardly so that the stepped edge is firmly received in the outer end of the closing guideway 44. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, this welt-enclosing portion of the guide extends, on the welt-entering side of the sewing point, into the immediate vicinity of the needle. The forward portion of the guide is turned upwardly (see Fig. 4) to tilt the welt at a slight angle to the horizontal, the outer end surface 44 providing in addition a convenient guidin nose for the lasted shoe.

The welt is supported at the sewing point against the downward component of the needle thrust by surface 50 which forms a bed or platen extending beneath the welt along the line of feed on both sides of the needle. The forward edge of this supporting surface is cut away slightly at 52 in the way of the needle path to provide a safe margin of clearance. The positioning of the welt relative to the needle path is further isolated from the effects of variation in the position of the shoe through anextension 54 which engages the flesh surface of the strip on the other side of the needle, in the line of feed, from the enclosing portion of the guide. The point of the extension or finger 54 normally reaches to the base of the step, while the under side of the finger is curved slightly to define a passage of substantially uniform thickness between the finger and the bed 50, such as to prevent twisting or distortion of the thin and flexible flange of the welt.

It is thus apparent that although the welt is free to be drawn snugly against the upper as each successive stitch is set, the welt cannot be raised or lowered out of the needle path by improper manipulation of the work, since the welt is supported, beyond the point of attachment to the shoe, by the bed 50 against a downward pull, and by the finger '54 in case the operator tends to force the work upwardly. Likewise, even though the operator tilts the shoe during sewing, the welt is held at a constant angle to the needle path, so that the stitches pass at a uniform angle through the step or shoulder at the base thereof and emerge from the edge of the welt in accordance with the requirements of edgewise attachment.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with the construction of a particular type of shoe, the invention is not so limited, and the welt strip and guide may be employed to advantage where shoes other than those embodying a flexible midsole or innersole of fabric or other thin material is to be constructed with a welt strip.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a work piercing needle arranged to penetrate the marginal portion of a lasted shoe upper, and a welt guide arranged to direct a welt havin a step along one edge into edgewise relation to the marginal portion of the upper with the step edge in engagement therewith so that the welt is secured to the upper by stitches passing through the step edgewise of the welt, the guide including cooperating welt engaging elements between which the welt is positioned on both sides of the needle path to locate the welt so that the needle penetrates the step adjacent its base and emerges from the edge of the welt.

2. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination. a curved hook needle arranged to penetrate the marginal portion of a lasted shoe upper, and a welt guide arranged to direct a welt having a step along one edge into edgewise re lation to the marginal portion of the upper with the edge in engagement therewith so that the welt is secured to the upper by stitches passing through the step edgewise of the welt, the guide comprising a welt-enclosing guideway on the welt entering side, and a substantially continuous welt supporting surface in the vicinity of the sewing point outside the needle path extending across and substantially beyond the plane of operation of the needle.

3. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a curved hook needle arranged to penetrate the marginal portion of a lasted shoe upper, and a welt guide arranged to direct a welt comprising flange and step portions into edgewise relation to the marginal portion of the upper with the step edge in engagement therewith so that the welt is secured to the upper by stitches passing through the step edgewise of the welt, said guide comprising a welt-enclosing guideway on the work entering side of the needle path, and cooperating guiding surfaces on the other side of the needle path for engaging between them the flange of the sewn welt.

4. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a curved hook needle adapted to penetrate the marginal portion of a lasted shoe upper, and a welt guide arranged to direct a welt comprising flange and step portions into substantially edgewise relation to the marginal portion of the upper with the step edge in engagement therewith so that the welt is secured to the upper by stitches passing through the step edgewise of the welt,saidguide including welt positioning surfaces on the work entering side of the needle path, a welt supporting surface in the immediate vicinity of the needle path outwardly thereof, and welt' flange engaging surfaces on the other side of the needle path for positioning between them the flange of the sewn welt.

5. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a curved hook needle arranged to penetrate the marginal portion of a lasted shoe upper, and a welt guide arranged to direct a welt comprising flange and step portions into substantially edgewise relation to the marginal portion of the upper with the step edge in engagement therewith so that the welt is secured to the upper by stiches passing through the step edgewise of the welt, the guide comprising a welt-enclosing guideway on the work entering side of the needle path, the enclosing guideway including elements relatively adjustable to vary the size of the guideway, the guide including a substantially continuous supporting surface in the vicinity of the needle path outwardly thereof, and a guiding finger adapted to engage the flange portion of the sewn welt, said finger extending substantially to the base of the welt step.

6. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a curved hook needle arranged to penetrate the marginal portion of a lasted shoe upper, and a welt guide arranged to direct a welt into substantially edgewise relation to the marginal portion of the upper and in such relation to the needle path that the needle passes through the welt in a direction substantially parallel to the surface of the welt and emerges at the edge of the welt, said guide including cooperating welt engaging elements for guiding the welt between them on both sides of the needle path.

'7. An inseam shoe sewing machine having,.in combination, a curved hook needle arranged to penetrate the marginal portion of a lasted shoe upper, and a welt guide arranged to direct a welt into substantially edgewise relation to the marginal portion of the upper and in such relation to the needle path that the needle passes through the welt in a direction substantially parallel to the surface of the welt and emerges at the edge of the welt, said guide including a welt-enclosing guideway located at the welt entering side of the needle path, and cooperating surfaces engaging the upper and lower sides of the welt respectively at the opposite side of the needle path.

8. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a curved hook needle arranged to penetrate the marginal portion of a lasted shoe upper, and a welt guide arranged to direct a welt into substantially edgewise relation to the marginal portion of the upper and. in such relation to the needle path that the needle passes through the welt in a direction substantially parallel to the surface of the welt and emerges at the edge of the welt, said guide including a welt-enclosing guideway located at the welt entering side of the needle path, an underlying support which en"- gages against the unde side of the welt and extends across and substantially beyond the plane of operation of the needle, and a cooperating element which engages the upper surface of the welt at the side of the needle with the completed stitches of the seam.

9. An inseam shoe sewm machine having, in combination, a curved hook needle arranged to penetrate the marginal portion of a lasted shoe upper, and a welt guide arranged to direct a welt into substantially edgewise relation to the marginal portion of the upper and in such relation to the needle path that the needle passes through the welt in a direction substantially parallel to the surface of the welt and emerges at the edge of the welt, said guide including a welt-enclosing guideway located at the welt entering side of the needle path, an underlying support which engages against the under side of the welt and extends across and substantially beyond the plane of operation of the needle, a cooperating element which engages the upper surface of the welt at the side of the needle with the completed stitches of the seam, and a width gauge adjustably supported within the welt-enclosing portion of the welt guide and extending substantially across the plane of operation of the needle for engagement with the rear edge of the welt.

JAMES P. FREDERICKSEN. 

